NH Reconsiders Lifting Ban On 'Dissolving' Corpses
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire's House is reconsidering a new idea in mortuary science that would allow human bodies to be dissolved into a soapy liquid as an alternative to cremation.
The Legislature voted to allow the process in 2006, but reversed itself the next year and banned it. An attempt to lift the ban failed in 2009. The House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee is recommending that the House vote Wednesday to allow it.
The process was developed about 20 years ago as a way of getting rid of animal carcasses.
The process uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders. It leaves behind a coffee-colored liquid with the consistency of motor oil and a strong ammonia smell.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
